Why cant we damn be consistant???

[juliec]

I have followed this team for years,,, at times I am so proud of them (like last week) then it happens, they let me down yet again, this has gone on for years???? don't want to be the knocker, but hang on some time these guys deserve it,,,

Maybe we just dont have the players to be consistant?

Even moving to Melb from Queensland to be a swan member next year,, "WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG"

[footyhead]

Re: Why cant we damn be consistant???

Originally posted by juliec
I have followed this team for years,,, at times I am so proud of them (like last week) then it happens, they let me down yet again, this has gone on for years???? don't want to be the knocker, but hang on some time these guys deserve it,,,

Maybe we just dont have the players to be consistant?

Even moving to Melb from Queensland to be a swan member next year,, "WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG"

The seeds of todays defeat were seen in the first three quarters of last weeks game.
Look at the quarters played by the team this year.
The team is not in good form. Especially not good attacking form.

[Nico]

Re: Why cant we damn be consistant???

Originally posted by juliec
I have followed this team for years,,, at times I am so proud of them (like last week) then it happens, they let me down yet again, this has gone on for years???? don't want to be the knocker, but hang on some time these guys deserve it,,,

Maybe we just dont have the players to be consistant?

Even moving to Melb from Queensland to be a swan member next year,, "WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG"

Julie we don't have the cattle.

When we lose it is always for the same reasons and caused by the same culprits. We have a good core of players but there is a big gap between our best and next level. When the chips are down some players don't have it.

[robbieando]

Re: Why cant we damn be consistant???

History repeating I guess.

I've been supporting this team for nearly 18 years and I've known no other way other than this.

[Red@WhiteBaron]

Re: Why cant we damn be consistant???

Originally posted by juliec
I have followed this team for years,,, at times I am so proud of them (like last week) then it happens, they let me down yet again, this has gone on for years???? don't want to be the knocker, but hang on some time these guys deserve it,,,

Maybe we just dont have the players to be consistant?

Even moving to Melb from Queensland to be a swan member next year,, "WHAT ARE WE DOING WRONG"

We are consistent...at playing inconsistent footy that is.

There have been quarters whereby the team has played with the precision of a neurosurgeon; but we can't just string enough of those quarters together.

The question is, why?

Is it recruitment, is it the fact that rugby is still the key sport up in NSW and hence they avoid media scrutiny after a loss??? What about the club's decision to focus on establishing Aussie Rules in NSW/ACT rather than fielding a reserves team in the VFL (where the quality is significantly better)?

One thing's for certain is that our disposal skills are attrocious at times, and that's putting it mildly. We tend to overuse the ball so badly in defence, and try going about it the fancy way...but it ends up coming unstuck.

Look at what happens when we play direct and straight up the middle - beautiful, precise, effective, efficient.

Look at what happens when players back themselves up - goals, plenty of them.

But we seem to be shying away from this style of play. Why?

I don't really care if it sounds as though I'm having a whinge, because our last Premiership was back in 1933 - 72 years ago! Other teams have given their supporters plenty of Premiership success over recent years - Brisbane, Adelaide, North Melbourne, Essendon, Hawthorn etc.

I just want to see one premiership in my lifetime.

[Red@WhiteBaron]

Re: Re: Why cant we damn be consistant???

Originally posted by robbieando
History repeating I guess.

I've been supporting this team for nearly 18 years and I've known no other way other than this.

Isn't that like saying "but it's always been done like that"???

Maybe it's time for us to put pen to paper when we lose, and really let the club know that it's unacceptable.

[OldE]

Re: Re: Re: Why cant we damn be consistant???

Originally posted by Red@WhiteBaron


Maybe it's time for us to put pen to paper when we lose, and really let the club know that it's unacceptable.

I'm sure club officials will be reading RWO this week, as they usually do. Maybe we just need to be angrier than usual. Which isn't hard.

[Red@WhiteBaron]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Why cant we damn be consistant???

Originally posted by eirinn
I'm sure club officials will be reading RWO this week, as they usually do. Maybe we just need to be angrier than usual. Which isn't hard.

I really hope so eirinn, because with forthcoming matches against Melbourne (SCG) and West Coast (Subiaco) there needs to be a change quicksmart.

[desredandwhite]

It's quite simple really. We have a game plan that relies on having players better (or at least more reliable) than the ones we have currently available.

To succeed at the fast, high-possession game plan we are playing, we need players who can:

1) position themselves properly
2) deliver the ball accurately by foot
3) or deliver the ball accurately by hand in front of a moving player
4) Receive marks and handballs consistently.

We're not getting that at the moment, so 90% of attacks forward fail as soon as the first pass goes astray.

[Red@WhiteBaron]

Originally posted by desredandwhite
It's quite simple really. We have a game plan that relies on having players better (or at least more reliable) than the ones we have currently available.

To succeed at the fast, high-possession game plan we are playing, we need players who can:

1) position themselves properly
2) deliver the ball accurately by foot
3) or deliver the ball accurately by hand in front of a moving player
4) Receive marks and handballs consistently.

We're not getting that at the moment, so 90% of attacks forward fail as soon as the first pass goes astray.

Long-term success is built upon a solid recruitment and development program, and I don't think the NSW-ACT region can provide us with that success at the moment.

The club has started on changing this, but given the fact that rugby league is still the numebr one sport in this region I don't see things changing for a long time.

It takes years to develop talent, and that's why I think the reserves should have remained in the VFL where the quality is significantly better than the NSW league - sure the Swans reserves beat the Weston Creek Lions by 211 points today, but is this a sign of a healthy team or competition?

Coaching and recruitment staff are also crucial to success. Ross Lyon, John Longmire and Peter Jonas are on the senior coaching panel, and whilst I respect the experience that these people have we need more.

Good players can be undone by bad coaching, and good coaches can be undone by bad players. We need players with sharp footy brains, and we need the right coaches to ensure that they bring out the best in these players.

We also need to make sure we don't get into a habit of getting complacent and accepting second-best. If we lose, then we need to ensure that the opposition has fought tooth and nail for the win.

Anything less is to deny the club and supporters the success they deserve.

[liz]

Originally posted by Red@WhiteBaron
Long-term success is built upon a solid recruitment and development program, and I don't think the NSW-ACT region can provide us with that success at the moment.

The club has started on changing this, but given the fact that rugby league is still the numebr one sport in this region I don't see things changing for a long time.

It takes years to develop talent, and that's why I think the reserves should have remained in the VFL where the quality is significantly better than the NSW league - sure the Swans reserves beat the Weston Creek Lions by 211 points today, but is this a sign of a healthy team or competition?

I don't think the lack of local talent is particularly relevant. The Swans recruit from essentially the same pool as everyone else. The only difference is their access to local rookies but these are in addition to their normal quota, and no-one else (Lions aside) has priority access to local rookies.

It means that most of the players we recruit are from interstate but when was the last time one of them left to go home? Brett O'Farrell is probably the most recent. At the moment they all seem more than happy to stay.

As for the VFL issue, is there any evidence that players developed more quickly when we had the Port alliance than now? It meant far more travel, a split reserve team (given that a max of 12 could play for Port in any week) and the rest consigned to the even lower standard SFL. And the Swans don't dominate the ATCAFL by any means. Weston Creek are the worst team in the comp and will get thrashed by just about every team. But there are a handful of teams capable of giving the Swans a very good contest, and using beating them.

[robbieando]

Originally posted by Red@WhiteBaron
It takes years to develop talent, and that's why I think the reserves should have remained in the VFL where the quality is significantly better than the NSW league - sure the Swans reserves beat the Weston Creek Lions by 211 points today, but is this a sign of a healthy team or competition?

Its a real catch 22, do we leave and go back to the VFL and have our kids flying on match day and not training with the guys they are going to play with in a matter of hours and cost the club a bucket load of cash in the process or do we stay in the Canberra League, save a bucket load of cash and then try and grow its standard to the level were we can get a steady stream of AFL standard kids coming though and provide the kids on our list the chance to get use to the players of their own team during the week and on match day????

Personally I think we have done better out of the Canberra League despite the one side results in some matches (after all we haven't won the flag yet in the two years of playing there)

Coaching and recruitment staff are also crucial to success.

Personally (and I know I'll get little support on this) I want to see a clean out of our recruitment staff. I think its getting stale and the standard of kids coming to the club hasn't been as great as it could be. Still I guess people will forever point to getting Goodes so low as a reason to keep them.

Good players can be undone by bad coaching, and good coaches can be undone by bad players. We need players with sharp footy brains, and we need the right coaches to ensure that they bring out the best in these players.

Good comment. Hard to say which it is, but I guess its a little bit of both and a final call is too hard to say.

[Red@WhiteBaron]

Originally posted by robbieando
Its a real catch 22, do we leave and go back to the VFL and have our kids flying on match day and not training with the guys they are going to play with in a matter of hours and cost the club a bucket load of cash in the process or do we stay in the Canberra League, save a bucket load of cash and then try and grow its standard to the level were we can get a steady stream of AFL standard kids coming though and provide the kids on our list the chance to get use to the players of their own team during the week and on match day????

Personally I think we have done better out of the Canberra League despite the one side results in some matches (after all we haven't won the flag yet in the two years of playing there)



Personally (and I know I'll get little support on this) I want to see a clean out of our recruitment staff. I think its getting stale and the standard of kids coming to the club hasn't been as great as it could be. Still I guess people will forever point to getting Goodes so low as a reason to keep them.



Good comment. Hard to say which it is, but I guess its a little bit of both and a final call is too hard to say.

It is a toughie...damned if you do, damned if you don't. We need to develop the ACT/NSW league as that's where the future is, so I suppose long term it is a good decision. It's a shame we don't have a tier of football that gives all the reserve leages a crack at the VFL - ie, top 1 or 2 finishers in each local league get to play in the VFL (or other league). Imagine the skills they'd be able to take back to their local competition.

As for the coaching staff, you certainly have my support on that one. Despite the respect that I have for John Longmire, Ross Lyon, and Peter Jonas we need more.